Insights in the Synthesis of Imidazolones from Aldehydes, Isocyanides, or Oxazolines.

α-Isocyanoacetamide derivatives were first converted to oxazolines under newly developed conditions. These oxazolines were used as precursors of α-isocyanoacrylamides, which could lead to various 2-arylated imidazolones. In addition, it was shown that both oxazolines and their precursors could efficiently lead to imidazolones unsubstituted at C2 in a very rapid, one-pot transformation, thus paving the way toward unprecedented routes to imidazolones, having a good tolerance to different substitution patterns.

Organocatalytic enantioselective synthesis of β-amino sulfonic acid derivatives.

An unprecedented enantioselective conjugate addition reaction of sodium bisulfite to various nitrostyrenes occurred upon the influence of a bifunctional amino-thiourea organocatalyst; a strategy that opens a straightforward route to unprotected chiral taurine derivatives thanks to the reduction of the obtained β-nitroethanesulfonic acids into the corresponding amino derivatives.

Isoform-selective HDAC1/6/8 inhibitors with an imidazo-ketopiperazine cap containing stereochemical diversity.

A series of hydroxamic acids linked by different lengths to a chiral imidazo-ketopiperazine scaffold were synthesized. The compounds with linker lengths of 6 and 7 carbon atoms were the most potent in histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibition, and were specific submicromolar inhibitors of the HDAC1, HDAC6 and HDAC8 isoforms. A docking model for the binding mode predicts binding of the hydroxamic acid to the active site zinc cation and additional interactions between the imidazo-ketopiperazine and the enzyme rim.

Pd(0)-Catalyzed Direct C-H Functionalization of 2-H-4-Benzylidene Imidazolones: Friendly and Large-Scale Access to GFP and Kaede Protein Fluorophores.

The first one-pot synthesis of N-substituted 2-H-4-benzylidene imidazolones and their subsequent palladium-catalyzed and copper-assisted direct C2-H arylation and alkenylation with aryl- and alkenylhalides are described. This innovative synthesis is step-economical, azide-free, high yielding, highly flexible in the introduction of a variety of electronically different groups, and can be operated on large-scale. Moreover, the method allows direct access to C2-arylated or alkenylated imidazolone-based green fluorescent protein (GFP) and Kaede protein fluorophores, including ortho-hydroxylated models.

Ligand-free Pd-catalyzed and copper-assisted C-H arylation of quinazolin-4-ones with aryl iodides under microwave heating.

A microwave-assisted method for the palladium-catalyzed direct arylation of quinazolin-4-one has been developed under copper-assistance. This method is applicable to a wide range of aryl iodides and substituted (2H)-quinazolin-4-ones. This protocol provides a simple and efficient way to synthesize biologically relevant 2-arylquinazolin-4-one backbones.

Pd-Catalyzed direct C-H functionalization of imidazolones with aryl- and alkenyl halides.

Direct C-H arylation and alkenylation of 4,4'-dialkylimidazolones with a broad range of halides under palladium and copper catalysis have been developed. This methodology is applied to the preparation of recently discovered fatty acid synthetase (FAS) inhibitors.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a novel (99m)Tc labeled 2-nitroimidazole derivative as a potential agent for imaging tumor hypoxia.

Tumor hypoxia plays a major role in reducing the efficacy of therapeutic modalities like chemotherapy and radiation therapy in combating cancer. In order to target hypoxic tissues, a tripeptide ligand having a 2-nitroimidazole moiety, as a bioreductive species, was synthesized. The latter was radiolabeled with (99m)Tc for imaging hypoxic regions of tumors and was characterized by means of its rhenium analogue.

Synthesis of new 18F-radiolabeled silicon-based nitroimidazole compounds.

The syntheses of new nitroimidazole compounds using silicon-[(18)F]fluorine chemistry for the potential detection of tumor hypoxia are described. [(18)F]silicon-based compounds were synthesized by coupling 2-nitroimidazole with silyldinaphtyl or silylphenyldi-tert-butyl groups and labeled by fluorolysis or isotopic exchange. Dinaphtyl compounds (6, 10) were labeled in 56-71% yield with a specific activity of 45 GBq/μmol, however these compounds ([(18)F]7 and [(18)F]11) were not stable in plasma.

Synthesis of sulfonic acid derivatives by oxidative deprotection of thiols using tert-butyl hypochlorite.

Starting from alkyl halides or Michael acceptors, thioacetates were prepared in situ and further treated with t-BuOCl, affording the corresponding sulfonyl chlorides which were trapped with nucleophiles such as water, alcohol, or amines. The three steps can be achieved in a one-pot procedure. Oxidative deprotection also proved to be efficient with S-trityl and S-tert-butyl groups, making it a convenient route toward cysteic acid derivatives.

New family of peptidomimetics based on the imidazole motif.

Starting from amino acid esters, new peptidomimetics based on the imidazole scaffold were prepared. An efficient and rapid sequence consisting of two subsequent one-pot procedures was developed and applied to various aminoacids. As they provide more substitution patterns, these heterocyclic mimics are promising tools for structural and biological studies.

Design of silicon-based misonidazole analogues and (18)F-radiolabelling.

Introduction: Development of new (18)F-labeled tracers for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging is increasingly important. Herein, we described the synthesis of silicon analogues of [(18)F]fluoromisonidazole in order to develop new radiolabelled compounds for the detection of tumour hypoxic domain. Their stabilities and their in vivo biodistribution were evaluated.

Aminoacid-derived mercaptoimidazoles.

Starting from suitably protected amino acids, mercaptoimidazoles were synthesized either from the acid or including the amine nitrogen itself. A preliminary optimisation study led to efficient conditions for the obtention of the imidazole ring. These conditions are compatible with the presence of amino acid or dipeptide scaffolds.

A concise synthesis of lentiginosine derivatives using a pyridinium formation via the Mitsunobu reaction.

A four-step synthesis of (-)-lentiginosine and its epimers is described starting from 2-bromopyridine. The key step consisted of a quaternarization of a fully unprotected pyridinium-polyol unit using Mitsunobu methodology. Subsequent PtO(2)-catalyzed diastereoselective hydrogenation of the pyridinium ring proceeded smoothly and led to the expected dihydroxyindolizidines with excellent yields.

Anionic, in situ generation of formaldehyde: a very useful and versatile tool in synthesis.

A very simple, safe and powerful method for the in situ generation of formaldehyde at low temperature in anhydrous conditions is described. This new tool avoids the use of gaseous formaldehyde and is suitable for basic carbon nucleophiles which cannot be generated in aqueous reaction media. Various substrates, including organolithium reagents and enolates, underwent smooth hydroxymethylation showing the versatility of this process.

One-pot synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-pyrrolopyridinones using in situ generated formimines.

A novel one-pot methodology is described for the synthesis of functionalized pyrrolopyridinones using in situ generated formimines and an ortho-lithiated pyridinecarboxamide species. Depending on the reaction conditions, this procedure allows versatile access to aminomethylated pyridinecarboxamides, 2,3-dihydro-pyrrolopyridinones, or 1,1-dialkylated 2,3-dihydro-pyrrolopyridinone derivatives. [reaction: see text]

Deprotonation of benzoxazole and oxazole using lithium magnesates.

The first deprotonations of oxazole and benzoxazole using lithium magnesates are described. The reactions occurred in tetrahydrofuran at room temperature using 1/3 equiv of lithium tributylmagnesate. As 2-lithiooxazole and 2-lithiobenzoxazole, lithium tri(2-oxazolyl)magnesate and lithium tri(2-benzoxazolyl)magnesate very rapidly and completely isomerized to the more stable 2-(isocyano)enolate and 2-(isocyano)phenolate type structures, respectively, a result shown by NMR analysis.